Day of the Frog (9th), Seed Moon, Year of the Burning Mountain

The long winter

An unusually cold winter batters the City of Sevenscore Thousand Smokes. Leaden clouds have hung over the city for months, bring perpetual gloom. It is Seed Moon, the second month of Spring but the chill and gloom has only intensified. The prices of food, wood and furs have skyrocketed. The merchants of the north have profited, but many Lankhmarts are starving and cold.

Yucta, self-exiled

Yucta got into trouble with Basharat the church extortioner, who managed to get him convicted of some religious crime. Yucta managed to avoid prison in exchange for one of his gems. He got work with an ambassador from Jurate, a settlement near Klesh. His work caused him to clash with a historian and later a major noble of Lankhmar. This misunderstanding was of such magnitude that Yucta was forced to self-exile outside of the city to avoid jail or forfeiture of assets.

Aranduil, Protector of the Park of Pleasure

The Park of Pleasure is threatened by those who would chop down the trees for firewood during the cold extended winter. Aranduil has opposed this, with the help of a steadfast Woods Girl who has become his servant/apprentice, and a Cold Waste barbarian called Ubar Redpatch. The three have kept watch over the park. Two weeks ago they fended off a major attack on the park by looters. But Aranduil attracted the ire of the powerful Lumber Merchants’ Guild, who tried to have him convicted of unlawful brawling.

Ockasiola, winter Adventurer

Ockasiola the Zebran has taken on various jobs; for a gambler, a torturer and a linguist. He’s undertaken two dangerous missions, one of which cost the life of a barbarian friend. A month ago he had a prophetic dream about approaching a house in the city surrounded by trees. He declined a proposal of marriage. Finally the icy weather got to him and he was sick with a racking cough alone in the house on Silver Street for two weeks.

Of Priests and Pumpkins

The storm bird

Yucta was awakened in his humpy outside of Lankhmar by a dream of Tech-na-Chuk-Chuk-Wakae-Hazar and the sudden arrival of a large grey-feathered bird in his tent, along with a blast of freezing air. It turned its head and he saw its empty eyesocket and skull visible. He shooed it out.

A quixotry of priests

Ockasiola the Zebran was also woken by a banging on the door of the house on Silver Street. A strange collection of priests awaited him.

• A bald Priestess of the Rat God
• 2 Priests of Votishal the Silent
• Priest of Mog the Spider God with his elaborate headwear
• Priest of Storm Bull
• Priest of Aarth with acolytes in attendance
  They wished for Yucta to remove the wintry curse from Lankhmar. A little reluctantly they each placed a bag of coins on he table and left.

Twitching for Yucta

Twitching :: the pursuit of a previously located rare bird

Ockasiola sought out Aranduil in the Park of Pleasure. He was there with his new companions. Ockasiola persuaded him to seek Yucta and to end the threat to the gardens. In fact Aranduil had spied Yucta’s humpy when in eagle form above the piled dark clouds above Lankhmar. They set out from End Gate into the fields.

Skull-in-a-box

They found Yucta inhaling some powerful herbs which both kept him warm and allowed time to pass quickly. Aranduil interrogated the shaman about the bird he had seen: a Northern Storm Petrel. Yucta realised the bird had landed on the box containing the sorcerer’s skull, and he believed there might be a connection between the skull and the creepy weather.

To Lankhmar, by pumpkin

Yucta was in exile; he was still wanted in Lankhmar. His Kleshite looks could not be disguised. They found a pumpkin merchant on the road and paid him to smuggle Yucta into the city among his pumpkins. It was a bumpy and uncomfortable ride but without incident. Ockasiola, who had gone on ahead, met Yucta at the market square.

Runes and plans in the house on Silver Street

Cradling a pumpkin under his arm, Yucta returned with Ockasiola and Aranduil to his house on Silver Street. While he cooked up some spicy pumpkin soup, Aranduil transcribed the runes on the Skull of Anothep-Soth. The Great Library of Lankhmar might have some answers; they would seek them tomorrow.